Refunds promised after tech glitch on Woods-Mickelson live stream

Tiger Woods And Phil Mickelson make $200,000 side bet ahead of their $9 million Las Vegas showdown.

Golf fans who paid $19.95 to watch Friday’s live stream of a one-on-one, $9 million winner-take-all match between longtime rivals Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson received some good news Saturday: They’ll be getting their money back.

Because of a pre-match technology glitch with its Bleacher Report Live paywall, media company Turner feared that some fans who already paid for the event might miss some of the action, Variety reported.

So Turner decided to take down the paywall and make the event free for everyone, rather than risk dealing with an army of angry viewers.

“This did not impact the live streaming of the competition,” Turner said in a statement Saturday, “and fans were treated to an event that was both engaging and memorable.

“Unfortunately,” the company added, “the pre-match technical issue did occur, and we will offer fans who purchased the event on B/R Live a refund.”

Still, some viewers who paid for the event were unable to see it on their televisions, according to the Associated Press, which added that more than 500 people were on hold waiting for assistance at one point.

As for the match, Mickelson ended up defeating Woods after 22 holes and called the win “very special.”

But at least one well-known fan was not happy about the quality of the competition – which saw Mickelson miss a 9-foot putt on the first hole, Woods miss a 3-foot putt on the second hole, and both players miss birdie putts on the sixth hole.